The invention concerns a crankcase for an internal combustion engine.
DE 100 33 416 C1 discloses a rectangular crankcase for an internal combustion engine in a V-arrangement, which consists of two side walls, two end faces, and an upper surface. The crankcase is open on the underside. This crankcase is produced as a one-piece cast aluminum part. A crankshaft space is located inside the crankcase, along with several chambers, which are used as an oil reservoir and for housing auxiliary equipment, for example, pumps and heat exchangers. The underside of the crankcase is sealed from the outside environment with a bottom plate, which seals both the crankshaft space and the other chambers.
The German Patent Application number DE 10 2005 030 850.3, for which a prior printed publication has not yet appeared, discloses a crankcase for an internal combustion engine in series construction, which is open on the underside. Here again, the crankshaft space and an additional chamber are located inside the crankcase. The crankcase is sealed on its underside by a bottom plate, which is larger than the underside of the crankcase. A heat exchanger and a filter are mounted on the projecting length of the bottom plate, i.e., outside the crankcase.
On the power side of the crankcase, a starter generator is mounted, which is operatively connected with the crankshaft and is bolted to the crankcase. If different variants of starter generators are to be built on the same type of crankcase, the manufacturer of the internal combustion engine must provide the different bore patterns for mounting the starter generators. Since the crankcase is established at the beginning of the development process, the manufacturer of the internal combustion engine is already forced at a very early point in time to commit himself to the variants of the starter generators that are to be mounted. Subsequent changes are complicated and expensive, since the casting mold of the crankcase must be changed.